Both Alike in Dignity

A/N: I'd just like to reiterate that the original draft version of this story is a finished draft. I'm not picking it up where I left off - this is a series. I'll be working on the second novel in the series soon, but right now I'm working on something completely different, which will be posted after this book. This is a re-work. Thanks very much for the reviews, from both old and new readers alike. I really appreciate hearing your thoughts on Both Alike - every review makes my day. Got another birthday tomorrow, so reviewers get ANOTHER slice of birthday cake. Lawl.

Word Count (overall): 8924
Word Count (this chapter): 1508
Updates: Mondays and Thursdays

Chapter Five

Sebastian dozed. He was too paranoid to sleep properly and trust Jasper, but he was tired enough that he didn't bother to count the stops as they went past. Jasper nudged him, and he jolted awake, wincing against the harsh artificial light that stabbed at his sensitive eyes.

“We're getting off next stop,” Jasper said. “Need to keep moving.”

Sebastian straightened up in his seat and checked the time. It was late, early hours of the morning. The subway closed at two am – they needed to figure out what they were going to do before that happened. Blaine and the pack could be right behind them. The thought made him shiver.

“What are we going to do now?” Sebastian asked, looking up at Jasper.

Jasper paused. “You're not going to like it,” he said, frowning. He glanced down, making eye contact with Sebastian briefly. “We need to get out of the country.”

“What?” Sebastian asked, his voice a rasping husk. His cultured, smooth tone had been replaced by something filled with pain, hunger and stress. He cleared his throat. “Why? How?”

That was not an easy question to answer. Jasper struggled with it for a second. The subway train screeched to a halt, the doors hissing open. They exited together, Jasper crowding Sebastian a little, not touching him, but staying near him. Keeping him within easy reach.

“They can scent us,” Jasper said, reluctantly. “Especially around the full moon. Enhanced sense of smell, tracking... we need to get as far away as possible, as quickly as possible, and make it difficult for them to follow us. It'll be hard to keep them off our track, but if we just keep moving, we might lose them or they might give up.”

That was not the most reassuring answer in the world. Sebastian glanced around quickly, expecting Blaine to appear from nowhere. They had about ten minutes before the next train on this line pulled in. Could they possibly have gotten the train just after, tracked them so far? Surely they couldn't tell what subway station they'd gotten off at? The most terrifying thing was that he didn't know, and his lack of knowledge made him paranoid. He didn't know how good they were at tracking. He had no experience with that. Jasper made it seem so hopeless.

“We need either the channel tunnel, or Heathrow. Whichever one leaves here the quickest, I dunno how far behind they'll be, but we don't have a lot of time,” Jasper said. Best not to risk it.

Heathrow. Leaving the fucking country. It was crazy. Just because some werewolf pack had decided that he could be their night's entertainment. Sebastian was starting to think that he'd have been better off if Jasper had just left him in the gutter to crawl home on his own.

Sebastian hesitated. “We need a map for the lines ,” he said. Jasper seemed to know what he was doing. Sebastian didn't exactly spend a lot of time navigating public transport. He very much preferred to stay in his apartment.

“Over here,” Jasper said, gesturing for Sebastian to follow. “Look. This line goes straight to the train station. Leaves in three minutes. If we hurry, we can make it. We'll worry about what train we need to catch when we get there.”

The train system wasn't exactly the most reliable – Sebastian was gripped by the sudden terror that Blaine would catch up with them whilst they were waiting for the train. He liked plans. He liked everything laid out. He liked to know exactly what time things were going to happen. Playing it by ear just left him feeling panicky, his stomach fluttering with nerves. There was no time to argue.

They crossed the platform in synch, Jasper closely behind Sebastian, herding him. He kept close to the other male, directing him effortlessly as they slid in amongst drunk teenagers and even more drunk adults. The party crowd. Easy pickings.

Sebastian mourned the fact that he didn't have the time to draw one aside and drink his fill. His need for blood outweighed his distaste for his method of consumption. They would need to stop at some point. The idea of having to feed in front of Jasper made him fidgety. Anxious. He didn't want the werewolf watching him, didn't want the other to see him slide the mask into place and take it off again, one moment seductive and the next neurotic. He didn't want Jasper to judge him. The thought was alarming. He shouldn't care what Jasper thought.

The subway train pulled into the station, scattering his thoughts in a scream of metal on metal. Jasper got on first, this time. Sebastian was right behind him. This late, it wasn't crowed. They both took a seat, Sebastian trying not to think about the hundreds of people that had sat down before him, the sweat and the germs and the illness.

Jasper sprawled out gracelessly where Sebastian sat down tidily, as far away from the other male as possible while sitting on the same train bench.

“What're you thinking?” Jasper asked, breaking the heavy silence between them.

Sebastian jumped. He dropped his head back against the wall with a loud thunk, closing his eyes. He was so fucking tired. The bruises were disappearing from his skin slowly, but healing was taking his toll on him, leeching his energy. “If we're going to run, we should do it properly,” he said. “Cross the channel to France, leave the country, like you said.” It pained him to say it, but he was more scared of Blaine than he was of leaving the comfort of his home. He'd had to uproot himself and leave before. It wasn't exactly new. “Maybe they'll leave us alone then.”

“Maybe,” Jasper answered, looking away. “They might.” He paused. “We won't be able to get a train to France this early in the morning. Best we're gonna get is maybe five, six am.”

It seemed like far too long, too much of a risk. Blaine could catch up to them. They were being hunted. And it wasn't good for Sebastian to be out in the day, especially not in summer. The heat would get him.

“I don't know,” Sebastian said, weary. “If we're travelling during the day, I need some things. Some gloves, an umbrella. I need to be covered up.” And it wasn't as simple as just wearing a coat – he would get too warm. Staying cool was important.

Jasper fell silent. He chewed at his lower lip.

Sebastian watched, his gaze fixed on the way that Jasper's blunt teeth worked until his lip was pink and flush with blood. He snapped his gaze away, squinting against the artificial light. Someone was bleeding. A girl on the other side of the train cart. It was making him antsy. Itchy. Needy.

“Okay. So we find some shitty motel near the train station that'll let us in at two in the morning and hole up there. As soon as the shops open, I'll get you what you need. Make a list when we get there. We catch the train.” Jasper paused. “You have money, right?”

Sebastian snorted, then nodded. “Yeah, I have money. Plenty of it.” Part of him was terrified that they would be found. Another part was too tired to care. He needed the rest.

Jasper looked at Sebastian. The other was pale, the kind of pale that most people associated with death. Ashen. “We'll work it out,” he said, lowering his voice. “It'll be okay.”

“Don't patronise me,” Sebastian spat back. He didn't need nor want to be treated like a child. He didn't need Jasper to protect him or help him. He could leave the other easily, make his own way out of the country, avoid Blaine himself. There was a good chance that it would be easier on his own. Jasper had brought him nothing but trouble.

“I wasn't,” Jasper said, studying Sebastian. “We'll make it. Somehow.”

“If only the rest of the world shared your optimism,” Sebastian said. “Maybe we'd all throw candy at each other instead of bullets.” He was too old to be optimistic. He'd seen too many people die. Young people. Children. There was no one looking out for them. Jasper was stupid if he thought there was.

“Now who's being patronising,” Jasper said, glancing at Sebastian and then staring out the window. He studied Sebastian in the glass, watching the other, his lips, the proud curve of his cheekbones.

“Stop it,” Sebastian snapped. “Stop looking at me.”

Jasper gave him a quizzical look. His eyes lingered on the alabaster flesh of his throat, admiring the way muscle moved as Sebastian swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing. He looked away.

“I wasn't looking at you,” Jasper lied.